6-17-13

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Blackhawks at Bruins: What bettors need to know

Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (-121, 5)

Best-of-seven series tied 1-1.

After putting in more than the traditional 60 minutes in the first two contests of the Stanley Cup final, the Boston Bruins will look to seize an edge in the series on Monday when they return home for Game 3 versus the Chicago Blackhawks. Boston rebounded after suffering a hard-luck 4-3 loss in triple-overtime in Game 1 as Daniel Paille netted the winner in the extra session for a 2-1 triumph on Saturday. Tuukka Rask weathered a furious first-period storm to finish with 33 saves in the victory.

Patrick Sharp scored his ninth goal of the postseason to pull into a share of the league lead with Boston's David Krejci, but the Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks were unable to solve Rask again. The netminder's stingy ways were enough to prevent the Bruins from falling into an 0-2 deficit in the Stanley Cup final for the second time in three years. "I think it's just as good, there's no doubt," Boston coach Claude Julien responded when asked to compare the postseason run of Rask to predecessor Tim Thomas. "Tuukka's done an outstanding job. To me, he's been as much a contributor to our team as Tim was two years ago." Thomas guided the Bruins past the Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup final.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, CBC, RDS

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Chicago is no stranger to going the extra mile, having posted a double-overtime series-clinching victory over reigning champion Los Angeles in the Western Conference final before enduring the first two tilts of this series. Defenseman Duncan Keith has logged a mind-boggling 121:01 of ice time in the last three contests, but isn't too worried about getting run down. "I think as players, we've gone through things like that before. It's just about getting your rest," he said. "It's not rocket science. You just need to get sleep and eat the best you can. Do all those little things to help prepare so you feel good and ready to go."

ABOUT THE BRUINS: A line change and an alert play by Tyler Seguin allowed Chris Kelly to end a streak of 21 consecutive postseason games without a point and 23 straight without a goal. Seguin lifted the stick of Sharp, forcing a turnover behind the net and Paille made a nifty move on defenseman Nick Leddy before the puck caromed off Kelly and into the net. "He's been snake-bitten for quite a while and when you don't score, eventually, you get scored on and the minuses keep creeping up," Julien said of Kelly. "That was certainly something that bothered him. I thought he played well (Saturday)."

TRENDS:

* Blackhawks are 3-7 in the last 10 meetings.
* Over is 4-0 in Bruins’ last four Monday games.
* Under is 10-1-2 in Blackhawks’ last 13 road games.
* Bruins are 6-0 in their last six home games.

OVERTIME

1. Chicago has failed to score on its last 15 straight power-play opportunities while Boston has killed off its last 22 consecutive chances while short-handed.

2. Bruins top-line RW Nathan Horton returned from a shoulder injury suffered during the first overtime of Game 1. He mustered just one shot on goal Saturday.

3. Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane has four goals and an assist in his last four games. He had recorded two tallies and set up eight others in his previous 15 contests.

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Bruins Stanley Cup faves for first time this season

The Boston Bruins are the Stanley Cup favorites for the first time this season after their 2-1 overtime win in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

The Bruins are now -120 series favorites heading back to Boston for Game 3 Monday with the series tied 1-1.

The Blackhawks opened the series as -145 series favorites back on June 9 and are now being dealt at even money at some books.

Bettors could have placed a futures bet on the Bruins at +1200 back before the lockout-shortened campaign started in January.

Boston is a -121 favorite in Game 3 and oddsmakers have set a total of 5.

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DCI Pro Hockey
The Daniel Curry Index

06/17/13 Prediction

Season: 319-197 (.618)

Stanley Cup Finals
Game 3, best-of-7
BOSTON 3, Chicago 2

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Rounding the bases: The best bets in the bigs

Every week we take a look at the hottest and coldest teams as well as the best over and under bets in Major League Baseball.

For the week of June 10-16.

Hot team: San Diego Padres
Last week: 6-0
Season: 35-34
Upcoming schedule: at Giants, vs. Dodgers

Skinny: The Friars have strung together six consecutive wins against formidable opponents (Braves, Diamondbacks) to rise above the .500 mark and move within two games of the NL West Division lead.

Cold team: Texas Rangers
Last week: 1-6
Season: 38-31
Upcoming schedule: vs. A’s, at Cardinals

Skinny: The Rangers’ pitching staff is decimated with injuries and their bats have gone cold. Texas has dropped six straight games, scoring just eight runs in the process.

Over team: Miami Marlins
Last week: 5-0-1 over/under
Season: 30-33-5 over/under
Upcoming schedule: at Diamondbacks, at Giants

Skinny: Slugger Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) returned to the lineup on to boost the offense and Marlins pitchers surrendered 6.5 runs per game this past week.

Under team: Texas Rangers
Last week: 0-7-0 over/under
Season: 24-42-3 over/under
Upcoming schedule: vs. A’s, at Cardinals

Skinny: As stated above, the Rangers failed to put runs on the board. Texas continues to be an awesome under play to date (24-42-3 O/U).

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American League an under bettors' dream last week

American League teams were a smoking hot under bet last week, going 27-61-6 over/under.

AL West teams were especially kind to under bettors, posting a 6-24-1 over/under mark. The Texas Rangers led the way, going low in all seven of their games.

Other AL teams with impressive under records last week included:

Orioles 1-5-1 O/U
Indians 1-5 O/U
Tigers 1-5 O/U
Twins 1-5 O/U
Red Sox 2-4-1 O/U

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Cup Finals Shift to Boston for Monday's Game 3

2013 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS at BOSTON BRUINS

Game 3 - Series tied 1-1
Puck Drops: Monday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -130, Chicago +110, Total: 5

With the Bruins and Blackhawks splitting a pair of overtime outcomes, the NHL Stanley Cup Finals now shifts to Boston for Monday's Game 3.

Chicago's Andrew Shaw was the hero in Game 1, as it was his knee that deflected the puck in the back of Boston's net at 12:08 of the third overtime period. On Saturday, the Bruins got even when Tyler Seguin fed Daniel Paille, whose wrist shot at 13:48 of the first overtime beat Corey Crawford on the glove side. Boston was badly outplayed in the first period when Chicago held a 19-4 shots advantage and led 1-0, which should have been 2-0 if not for a controversial disallowed goal because a whistle had blown. However, the Bruins took over after the first intermission, with 24 shots on goal the rest of the way, compared to just 15 for the Blackhawks. Neither team capitalized on the power play -- Chicago 0-for-3 and Boston 0-for-2 -- and faceoffs were pretty even with the Bruins holding a slight 39-33 edge. Boston was the more physical team with 50 hits, compared to just 34 for the Blackhawks, but Chicago also had 17 takeaways, 13 more than its opponent. Boston is happy to return home where the team is 7-2 this postseason, while the Blackhawks are just 3-4 on the road in these playoffs. Both teams know how pivotal Monday's contest is, especially considering the Game 3 winner in a Stanley Cup Finals series tied 1-1 has won 21 of 25 series (84%) since 1939. Expect another tight, low-scoring game, but in the end, it will again be BOSTON that prevails at home.

This two-star FoxSheets trend also likes the Bruins to win on their home ice:

BOSTON is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in the 3rd game of a playoff series over the last three seasons.
The average score was BOSTON 4.0, OPPONENT 1.4 - (Rating = 2*).

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (13-5, 1.73 GAA, .944 Sv Pct. in playoffs) has had a tremendous series so far, saving 92-of-97 shots (.948 Sv Pct.), including 33-of-34 shots in Game 2. He has led his team to six straight home wins, saving 199-of-209 shots (.952 Sv Pct.) during this home win streak. This includes turning aside 107-of-109 shots (.982 Sv Pct.) in the past three home games. The offensive stars in Game 2 for the Bruins were LW Daniel Paille (1 G, 1 A, +2 rating), C Chris Kelly (1 G, +2 rating) and C Tyler Seguin (1 A). D Adam McQuaid also had an assist on the overtime winner, blocked four shots and dished out eight hits, which was surpassed by only teammate LW Milan Lucic (10 hits). Blue-liners Dennis Seidenberg (31:00) and Zdeno Chara (30:58) were the only two Bruins that logged more than a half-hour on the ice. Seidenberg, who also skated for 48:36 of the marathon Game 1, blocked a game-high five shots in Game 2. Veteran RW Jaromir Jagr had a team-high five shots on goal, but still hasn't scored a single goal in 18 games this postseason. C Rich Peverley won an impressive 9-of-11 faceoffs, but ran his skid of not tallying a single point to 15 straight games. RW Nathan Horton was questionable for Game 2 with an upper-body injury, but he was able to take 30 shifts totaling 21:29 on Saturday night. Horton (7 G, 11 A, +22 rating in playoffs), C David Krejci (9 G, 14 A, +15 rating in playoffs) and Lucic (5 G, 11 A, +14 rating in playoffs) have been the big scorers for Boston during the postseason.

Like Rask, Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford (13-6, 1.72 GAA, .935 Sv Pct. in playoffs) has also played very well in his first Stanley Cup Finals, saving 77-of-82 shots (.939 Sv Pct.). Chicago's top line was certainly on its game. C Patrick Sharp (9 G, 6 A, +3 rating in playoffs) was the offensive star in Game 2, scoring the lone goal as one of his game-high-tying seven shots on net. RW Marian Hossa (7 G, 8 A, +8 rating in playoffs) also had seven shots on goal. RW Patrick Kane (6 G, 9 A, +3 rating in playoffs) and C Michal Handzus (2 G, 8 A, +5 rating in playoffs) had the assists on the Game 2 goal. Game 1 overtime goal scorer Andrew Shaw and D Brent Seabrook each delivered a team-best six hits on Saturday. D Duncan Keith blocked a team-high four shots and was once again the iron man with a team-high 32:09 of ice time, giving him an eye-popping 80:49 for the series so far. This marks the first 1-1 series start to a Stanley Cup Finals since 2004 between Tampa Bay and Calgary. That series was decided in seven games, with the Lightning prevailing.

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Mighty Quinn

Mighty hit with the Mets Sunday

Monday it’s the Braves. The deficit is 642 sirignanos.

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MLB

Hot pitchers
-- Wood is 1-2, 2.37 in his last three starts; Cubs scored one run in his last three starts. Miller is 2-1, 2.84 in his last three starts.
-- Leake is 4-1, 1.35 in his last six starts. Liriano is 5-2, 2.34 in seven '13 starts.
-- Gee is 3-0, 1.29 in his last three starts. Hudson is 0-2, 2.08 in his last three starts; Braves scored four runs in those three games.
-- Arizona is 13-0 when Corbin starts (2-0, 4.81 last four). Turner is 1-0, 2.25 in his three starts this season.

-- de la Rosa is 1-0, 0.64 in his last two road starts.

-- Scherzer is 4-0, 2.00 in five starts this season.
-- Royals won last three Shields starts (0-0, 2.14).
-- Oakland won last five Straily starts (3-0, 2.20).
-- Norris has a 2.18 RA in his last five starts.
-- Harang is 2-1, 2.73 in his last four starts.

Cold pitchers
-- Haren is 0-5, 6.29 in his last six starts. Former National Lannan is 0-1, 6.14 in his three starts this year.
-- Zito is 1-4, 7.94 in his last six starts; he pitches much better at home (1-1, 4.50 in last three at home). Volquez is 2-2, 6.82 in his last six starts.

-- JJohnson is 0-2, 5.97 in six starts this season.

-- Arrieta is 1-1, 6.63 in four starts this season.
-- Carrasco allowed 13 runs in 7.2 IP in two starts this season.
-- Texas lost last five Tepesch starts (0-3, 4.97).
-- Quintana is 0-1, 5.33 in his last four starts.
-- Vargas is 0-1, 6.17 in his last couple starts.

Starting Pitchers/First Inning
You can wager on whether teams will score in first inning. Below is how often a starting pitcher has allowed 1+ runs in first inning in one of his starts........
-- Haren 1-13; Lannan 1-3
-- Wood 1-13; Miller 5-13 (4 of last 5)
-- Liriano 2-7; Leake 2-13 (0 of last 9)
-- Gee 3-13; Hudson 3-14
-- Turner 0-3; Corbin 3-13
-- Volquez 4-14; Zito 4-13

-- de la Rosa 3-14 (0 of last 5); Johnson 1-6

-- Arrieta 1-4; Scherzer 3-13 (0 of last 4)
-- Shields 6-14; Carrasco 0-2
-- Straily 2-10; Tepesch 2-13
-- Quintana 4-13; Norris 4-14
-- Harang 4-11 (0 of last 4); Vargas 1-13

Totals
-- Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Washington games.
-- Ten of last thirteen St Louis games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Cincinnati games stayed under total.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in Mets' last five games.
-- Over is 6-0-1 in Miami's last seven games.
-- Eight of last eleven San Diego games went over total.

-- Last four Toronto games stayed under the total.

-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Baltimore games.
-- Six of last seven Cleveland games stayed under the total.
-- Nine of last twelve A's games stayed under the total.
-- Eight of last ten Houston games stayed under the total.
-- Nine of last ten Seattle games stayed under the total.

Hot teams
-- Nationals won five of their last eight games.
-- St Louis is 13-1 in game following its last 14 losses. Cubs won five of their last seven road games.
-- Pirates won six of their last nine games. Cincinnati won five of its last seven.
-- Braves won seven of their last eight home games.
-- Miami won five of its last eight games.
-- Padres won nine of their last eleven games.

-- Colorado is 9-6 in last 15 games, winning three of last four on road. Toronto won its last five games, allowing nine runs.

-- Baltimore won six of its last eight games. Detroit won seven of its last ten.
-- Royals won ten of their last twelve games.
-- Oakland won 22 of its last 29 games.
-- Astros won their last four games, allowing nine runs.
-- Angels won three of their last four games. Seattle won four of last six.

Cold teams
-- Phillies lost seven of their last nine games.
-- Mets lost ten of their last thirteen games.
-- Arizona lost six of its last eight games.
-- San Francisco lost four of its last six games.

-- Tampa Bay lost six of its last eight games.
-- Rangers lost nine of their last eleven games
-- White Sox lost 11 of their last 12 road games.

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Hondo

Miami Marlins

"Jon Lester, aka Jonny Lager, and the dreaded Bosawx were beaten in Baltimore, which made Hondo crabby as his debt grew to 350 espinozas.
Tonight, Mr. Aitch is whistling for the big ‘dog in Arizona -- 10 units on Turner and the Fish to give Corbin “L.”"

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Today's MLB Picks

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis

The Cubs look to take advantage of a St. Louis team that is 1-5 in its last 6 home games versus a left-handed starter. Chicago is the pick (+170) according to Dunkel, which has the Cubs favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (+170). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, JUNE 17 Time Posted: 7:00 a.m. EST

Game 951-952: Washington at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Haren) 13.090; Philadelphia (Lannan) 14.649 Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-115); 8 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-115); Under

Game 953-954: Chicago Cubs at St. Louis (7:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Wood) 15.420; St. Louis (Miller) 14.570 Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1; 8 Vegas Line: St. Louis (-200); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (+170); Over

Game 955-956: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (7:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Liriano) 15.123; Cincinnati (Leake) 16.515 Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1 1/2; 7 Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-125); 8 Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (-125); Under

Game 957-958: NY Mets at Atlanta (7:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Gee) 15.797; Atlanta (Hudson) 14.921 Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1; 9 Vegas Line: Atlanta (-200); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+170); Over

Game 959-960: Miami at Arizona (9:40 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Miami (Turner) 15.368; Arizona (Corbin) 14.454 Dunkel Line: Miami by 1; 9 Vegas Line: Arizona (-220); 8 Dunkel Pick: Miami (+190); Over

Game 961-962: San Diego at San Francisco (10:15 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Volquez) 14.376; San Francisco 15.480 Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1; 7 Vegas Line: San Francisco (-125); 8 Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-125); Under

Game 963-964: Baltimore at Detroit (7:08 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Arrieta) 15.573; Detroit (Scherzer) 16.978 Dunkel Line: Detroit by 1 1/2; 7 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 965-966: Kansas City at Cleveland (7:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Shields) 17.887; Cleveland (Carrasco) 15.433 Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 2 1/2; 9 Vegas Line: Kansas City (-130); 8 Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (-130); Over

Game 967-968: Oakland at Texas (8:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Straily) 15.889; Texas (Tepesch) 14.265 Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Texas (-120); 9 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+100); Under

Game 969-970: Chicago White Sox at Houston (8:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: White Sox (Quintana) 14.796; Houston (Norris) 15.167 Dunkel Line: Houston by 1/2; 9 Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-125); 8 Dunkel Pick: Houston (+105); Over

Game 971-972: Seattle at LA Angels (10:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Harang) 15.487; LA Angels (Vargas) 14.457 Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1; 9 Vegas Line: LA Angels (-170); 8 Dunkel Pick: Seattle (+150); Over

Game 973-974: Colorado at Toronto (7:07 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (De La Rosa) 15.366; Toronto (Johnson) 17.637 Dunkel Line: Toronto by 2 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Toronto (-140); 9 Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-140); Under

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Today's NHL Picks

Chicago at Boston

The Bruins look to take advantage of a Chicago team that is 2-5 in its last 7 games in Boston. Boston is the pick (-130) according to Dunkel, which has the Bruins favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Boston (-130). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, JUNE 17 Time Posted 7:00 a.m. EST

Game 55-56: Chicago at Boston (8:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Chicago 12.666; Boston 14.261 Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 1 1/2; 4 Vegas Line & Total: Boston (-130); 5 Dunkel Pick: Boston (-130); Under

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Cappers Access

Cardinals(RL) -1.5(+111)
Rangers -110
Bruins -130

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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports

Our Free Plays are 1045-785 (58 + %) over the last 5 1/2 years !

Free winner MON Over the total 8 Wash/Phillies

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Gamblers Data

Free Play Monday

Royals -135